Unkempt grounds, broken drains and standing water at schools and colleges in Dhaka are creating breeding sites for the Aedes mosquito that spreads dengue. Small pools on roofs, playgrounds, drains and waste ground, and water caught in flower pots, plastic bottles or building materials, are raising the risk, Dhaka Post found on visits over several days.

Rubbish and standing water were seen behind Dhaka College in the residential area and little-used corners. "We often get bitten by mosquitoes sitting in class in the morning," said higher-secondary student Nabil Ahmed. Water was also standing near Government Laboratory High School, and parents asked for classrooms and surroundings to be checked before lessons begin.

Under a directive from the Dhaka deputy commissioner, each institution will form a 'Clean School Team' chaired by its head, with a parent representative, a nominee of the ward councillor or UNO, two students and a teacher as member secretary. Students must never be made to clear hazardous or toxic waste. The Directorate of Technical Education has told its institutions to run mosquito control and clean-ups every Saturday and report weekly.

Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanom said official drives alone are not enough and students and the public must be involved; the teams' job is to find water in flower pots, coconut shells and discarded containers. Dr Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel, director general of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, said institutions have been told to step up cleaning and monitoring.

A recent Dhaka South City Corporation survey found the most larvae in multi-storey buildings, 35.23 per cent, followed by single houses and buildings under construction. By type of site, water on floors held 12.26 per cent of larvae, buckets 10.34 per cent and plastic drums 8.89 per cent.

According to the health directorate, 75,730 people had been admitted to hospital with dengue this year up to 28 September and 233 had died, 136 of them in September so far. Clearing standing water, indoors and out, is the simplest defence against the Aedes mosquito.

Source: Dhaka Post